


Build Me Up (without using the blocks in the foam pit)

by deepestfathoms



Series: The Prom Wing AU [1]
Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Wings, Anxiety, Gen, I come back to this fandom to a severe lack of fics about Emma and the actors....., I guess I have to do EVERYTHING myself huh, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Pet Names, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trampolines, angie takes one look at emma and is like “my baby now”
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27710711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deepestfathoms/pseuds/deepestfathoms
Summary: Emma rarely ever got to fly thanks to her parents binding her wings. Luckily, a certain hen was around to give her some special training.
Series: The Prom Wing AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2026745
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Build Me Up (without using the blocks in the foam pit)

**Author's Note:**

> Wings (this AU is very specific with the wings so I suggest going to my Tumblr, yourdeepestfathoms, and looking through the wing au tag, specifically the world building tag, if you wanna completely understand it)  
> Angie: Golden eagle Avem  
> Emma: White-winged vampire bat Vesper-Black barn owl hybrid

They were pulling up to the large building in the distance. Not many fliers were out, as it was raining, so more cars were on the road than usual. Puddles lapped gently against the curb as Angie turned into the parking lot. The young avian next to her shifted.

“Ms. Dickinson…” She said uneasily. “I really don’t know about this…”

“Hush, my darling,” Angie replied breezily. “I told you to trust me.”

“I know, but…” Emma squinted out the window at the word RUSH posted in large neon green and electric blue letters at the storefront. “Are you sure a trampoline park is the best place for me to learn to fly?”

“I am sure.” Angie nodded. 

Angie parked the car and they both got out. A light sprinkling rained over them and they hurried to the canopy stretching from the building before they could get too wet. Emma huddled her wings in close when they stepped inside.

The trampoline park was giant. It boasted a high, vaulted ceiling and a large open space for various activities. From where the pair had entered, they could see netting and padding for all the different trampolines, but also a huge indoor jungle gym, an obstacle course, and carved cliffs stretching from the walls, some of which avians were climbing without any equipment. Further out, a diving board-like tower was poised and waiting above a foam pit.

Emma never got to go to one of these before. Nobody ever invited her to birthday parties, nor did her parents treat her to visits like so many parents she could see. Her mother and father opted to keep her hidden, punishing her with neglect and isolation simply for the way she looked. 

That’s why she couldn’t fly. They had constantly made her clamp her wings closed with mental constrictors. Or sometimes they would bind her wings to her back all together. She didn’t know which was worse for her body.

Angie paid and got the special socks required to do things in the park, while Emma fidgeted awkwardly behind her. The poor girl looked supremely embarrassed about being there, but she had to learn somehow. Plus, it was good for her to have some fun every once and awhile.

“So,” Angie said after they got the socks on and put their shoes away, “what do you want to do first?”

Emma shrugged. She still had her wings wrapped around her like a protective cloak and wouldn’t stop shifting from foot to foot. Angie bumped her with her tail.

“It’s okay, darling,” Angie murmured. “There’s nothing to be worried about.”

“But–but I can’t fly.” Emma mumbled, her big bat ears drooping. “I’m gonna look stupid…”

“No, you’re not.” Angie said. “I’m going to help you. Come on.”

They walked into the closest area- a netted enclosure with two springy trampolines and two walls, one four feet and one six feet. The objective was to climb onto the edge of the wall by using the momentum from jumping.

“What’s the point of this if you can just fly to the top?” Emma asked as she was watching Angie bounce on the trampoline for the four foot wall.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Angie replied.

“Fair. I guess.”

Angie flashed Emma a grin before leaping up onto the edge of the wall. It was a small space, but she fit and moved over for Emma to join her. After a moment of hesitation and eyeing the trampoline like it was actually made of molten lava, Emma stepped onto the springy surface.

“I still don’t know how this is going to help me learn how to fly…” Emma mumbled as she began to bounce.

“Make sure to get enough altitude so you can make the jump,” Angie told her. “Or else you’ll just–”

Emma slammed into the wall with a loud THUMP.

“…hit the wall.” Angie peered down at the girl that collapsed backwards onto her back like all her bones just melted. “Are you alright, hun?”

“My kneecaps,” Emma groaned. She rolled onto her back and fluffed out her wings, which had been uncomfortably creased when she fell. “Can I try again?”

“Of course!”

Emma nodded and did so. She didn’t hit the wall as hard the second time, but slipped off before she could claw her way up to the edge and tottered back onto the trampoline.

“I’m a lot weaker than I thought…” Emma said, looking at her claws.

Angie chuckled. “Come on, darling. You can do it.”

Emma tried again, almost making it this time, but fell backward with a squawk of alarm. Angie laughed.

“Was that your Dee Dee impression? I swear I’ve heard her make that exact noise.”

Emma blushed, but managed a tiny giggle. “Sorry. I don’t know why I made that sound. Maybe I was meant to be a dragon?”

“You’re much cuter as an angel,” Angie said. “I need all your fluff in my life.”

Emma blushed even harder. The actual term for an Avem-Vesper cross was “fallen angel” because Avems were allegedly the purest race and got tainted by Moon blood, but she enjoyed being called something so sweet.

She got back up and tried one more time, furiously pumping her wings until she managed to wiggle up onto the edge. Her ears perked up.

“Haha! I did it!” She exclaimed.

“Indeed,” Angie grinned at her as she sat up slowly.

“I don’t know what that achieved, though,” Emma said. “I still can’t fly.”

“Patience, little one,” Angie said. “We’ll get there. Let’s move on to something else.”

They decide to go to one of the main trampolines to jump. Emma got flustered almost instantly when she saw how many young fledges there were, but pushed through her embarrassment. Mostly everyone was either focused on themselves, their kids or friends, or Angie. Not that she blamed them for the last one.

Angie jumped peacefully on one of the squares, eyes closed, body relaxed. Her hair and glistening golden-brown feathers bobbed with her smooth movements, wings raising up and down like she was actually flapping them. Her broad eagle tail feathers never got caught under her feet, even though Emma worried they would. She just looked so at ease in such a childish place.

Emma had to be like that.

Taking a deep breath, Emma closed her eyes, unfurled her wings out slightly, and began to bounce. After just a few minutes, she felt painful stitches in her side and realized she was a lot less fit than she initially thought. When she peeked one eye open, nobody else seemed to be hindered by cramps, or maybe they were just really good at hiding that they were. Or maybe the constant exercise from flying made it so where their muscles were used to the kind of strain and it really was just her because she was kept from flying and didn’t get to build up her body like they all did. Maybe.

Oh well. Nothing she could do. She had to push through it for Angie. She had already complained enough.

Wait–

Oh god. Was she complaining? What if she had been annoying Angie by being so doubtful and whiny? Oh dear, oh dear… She really hoped Angie didn’t think that. She really did appreciate her doing this! She just had so much anxiety and shame and–

Was that What Does The Fox Say playing on the speakers? Damn, this trampoline park has some BOPS!

Emma let herself get into the music, biting her bottom lip to smother a stupid smile. What could she say? She thought the song was funny! She got so into the song, in fact, that she didn’t even notice that she was moving forward until her foot caught on the padding around each square and she catapulted into the next trampoline.

Fun fact: they did not taste very good!

Giggles of children erupted around the area. Emma’s face burned red (or maybe that was just from her skidding it against polypropylene) and her wings instinctively hooded over her. She knew laying there like a corpse would not make this situation any better, but she didn’t want to sit up and face the stares of several amused kids who would probably very easily shame her. She just wanted to sink through the trampoline mat and curl up on the floor underneath it and die.

And then Angie crouched down next to her and over exaggerated suicidal ideations diminished greatly.

“Are you okay?” Angie asked, resting a supportive wing on her back. “Did you hurt yourself? What happened?”

“I, uhh–” Emma’s antennae twitched nervously. “I had my eyes closed so I wasn’t watching where I was jumping…”

Angie blinked and then laughed, which she immediately tried to muffle with her hand.

“Hey!” Emma yelped. “Don’t laugh!”

“You’re right,” Angie said. “I’m sorry.” And then she snorted and burst into laughter.

“Stop! It’s not funny!” Emma flared, flapping her wings and fluffing out the fuzzy baby down on her breast in distress. But even she couldn’t bite back giggles from seeing Angie crack up. “I’m serious!”

“You’re laughing, too!”

“I know! But it’s okay when I laugh at myself!”

After a moment, Angie contained herself. She helped Emma to her feet and checked her for injuries, luckily finding none.

“We can leave if you’d like,” The hen said. “I’ve realized this may be a little much.”

“No, it’s okay!” Emma said quickly. “I wanna stay.”

Angie looked delighted. “Oh, wonderful! Because I REALLY wanted to try that obstacle course over there!”

Emma giggled. It seemed even the hen had a childish side.

They went over to the obstacle course next at Angie’s wonderment. It was a large area with rings and monkey bars and nets and dozens of other things to try and get through to reach the end. Angie was amazing at it, skillfully swinging across hanging ropes and climbing over walls and swooping gracefully through hoops. She controlled her wings so well during the flight portions of the course. Emma, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of the hen.

“M-Ms. Dickinson!” Emma mewled. “H-help! I’m stuck!”

Angie turned and immediately burst out into laughter when she saw that Emma was caught upside down in a net. 

“Oh, darling!” Angie flapped over and gently untangled Emma. The girl yelped when she began to fall, but was caught by the hen before she could hit the ground. “Silly girl.”

“Sorry,” Emma blushed. She pulled her shirt down over her stomach, which had been peeking out slightly when she was upside down and revealing the white bat fluff on her belly. “U-umm– Thanks.”

Angie smiled. “No problem.”

“I think I’m gonna sit this one out,” Emma said. “I still can’t tell if you brought me here to actually teach me how to fly or if you just wanted to play on anything.”

“Both,” Angie winked before taking off onto one of the other courses.

Emma sat down at the table on the edge of the obstacle course, watching as Angie completed each one with ease. She was amazed at how skilled and graceful the hen was, not that she should be surprised. This was Angie Dickinson after all.

“Woo!” Angie exclaimed, thumping down beside Emma and taking her by surprise. Her feathers were ruffled, crest half extended with visible excitement, and a sheen of glistening sweat soaked her face. “This place is amazing!”

“It is,” Emma smiled up at her. 

“Come on, my little fluff ball,” Angie said. “It’s time to get back to your training!”

They go to a giant pit near the back that was at least the size of an Olympic swimming pool, except instead of being filled with water, it was filled with foam blocks. That was where the diving board-like platform was, probably fifty feet up into the air, and the two of them walked over just to see a kid half Emma’s age leap off of it and glide across to the end. 

“Oh wow,” Emma said, slightly intimidated. “That’s really high up.”

“You’ll be able to go even higher once you learn how to fly,” Angie said, though it didn’t encourage Emma very much.

They climbed the steep spiral staircase that wound up the post to the top. Angie jumped off first, and Emma thought she was just going for fun because she didn’t fly or glide, but then her wings shot open at the last moment and she soared upwards so fast Emma thought she may hit the ceiling. But then she twisted around and hovered in the air, smiling down at Emma.

“Come on!” She encouraged.

“I still don’t know how to fly, though,” Emma said to herself as she inched closer to the edge.

She wasn’t afraid of heights, but just being up that high knowing her wings couldn’t save her made her feel nervous and dizzy. She really, really didn’t want to jump off it, but she didn’t want to disappoint Angie even more, so she gathered all her courage and hopped off of the ledge.

“Fly, Emma! Fly!”

Emma hit the surface of the foam pool and sunk into the shapes like an anchor in water.

She did not fly.

She didn’t even flap her damn wings.

Angie swooped down and hovered over Emma, smiling thoughtfully down at her.

“You had perfect form,” She said. “Shall we try again?”

“I’m stuck.” Emma said. She lifted her wings and tried to wiggle out, but the foam cubes just kept tumbling down into her like she was caught in a sand trap. She looked up at Angie helplessly. “Help?”

Angie chuckled and grabbed one set of Emma’s hands. She pulled her out with ease and laughed at the way Emma had to clamber over the foam to get to the edge.

“Is it really that hard to get out?” She asked.

“You try it!” Emma answered.

Angie shrugged, shook her tail feathers, and then hopped in. Emma burst out into laughter.

“What?” Angie blinked up at her.

“Your–your tail!” Emma sputtered out through giggles. “Why’d you shake your tail like that?”

“Why not?” Angie responded smugly. She smirked and began to climb out, only to find that it was a lot more difficult than she expected. “Oof. This is hard.”

“I told you,” Emma giggled. “Do you need help from me now?”

“That would be nice,” Angie grunted.

Emma hopped into the pit (wiggling her own batty bobtail as she went). Angie looked at her like there were WingEaters parading out of her ears.

“Why would you jump in if you can’t get out either?!”

Emma blinked before realization dawned on her. “OH NO!!”

Angie began to laugh loudly. “Emma!”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t realize!”

“Well, we’re going to die in here,” Angie said. “We have to eat foam and feet of kids who jump in. This is our home now.”

Emma giggled. “Now who’s doing a Dee Dee impression?”

Angie grinned at her before managing to claw her way out of the pit. She helped Emma out after her.

“Thank you,” Emma said.

“No problem, my darling,” Angie smiled at her. “Want to try again?”

Emma agreed and they climbed the steps to the top. Angie lifted off into the air and flapped above the ledge instead of jumping off. Emma stretched out her own wings. A little sigh left her lips as she felt the heater ruffle through her fluffy barn owl feathers and she couldn’t help the small smile on her lips. It felt good. It felt right. Even if the height made her nervous, she felt so much more like an actual avian up there. She didn’t feel Flightless anymore, even if she still couldn’t fly.

“Cutie,” Angie cooed at Emma’s wistful smile. “You are so precious, Emma.”

Emma blushed shyly. “Th-thank you.”

“Okay, give me your hands,” Angie said, and Emma obeyed. “Now, walk to the edge and flap your wings. I’ll help you.”

“But what if I pull you down?” Emma asked nervously.

“It’ll be okay,” Angie assured her. “Trust me, darling.”

Emma nodded and began to flutter her wings. The beating of the limbs ruffled Angie’s hair, but the hen didn’t appear to care. Angie just continued to hold firmly to Emma’s hands and lead her to the end of the platform until she was directly on the edge.

“Just like that,” Angie murmured encouragingly. “Good girl. Keep it up.”

Emma concentrated on controlling her wings, which suddenly seemed very heavy on her back. As she flapped them a little harder, they fluttered around her in a flurry of pale white and shiny blue-black, some fuzzy chunks of feathers floating to the pit below. Soon, she felt herself rise a few inches into the air, over the edge and over the pit, but not falling. Angie began to cheer.

Emma couldn’t believe it. She was flying. Or, floating in the air at least. But it was something! And it was an incredible feeling! She couldn’t stop smiling!

A few seconds later, her wings got tired and she let herself fall down into the pit. As she was climbing out, Angie swooped into her in a great big hug. 

“You did it, darling!” The hen exclaimed, holding Emma tightly in her wings. “You were hovering! That’s such a big step! I’m so proud of you!”

Emma didn’t know how to respond, she wasn’t used to so much praise, so she just blushed and buried her face into Angie’s chest. Angie continued to coo and gush over how incredible she was, and Emma didn’t ask her to stop. She’s never had someone believe in her so much before.

“Thank you,” Emma said shyly. Angie cupped her cheeks and she leaned into her hands. “I never thought I would actually…you know…”

“You did!” Angie said. “You’re one step closer to fully flying!”

“Thank you,” Emma said again. She couldn’t help it. “I couldn’t do it without you.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Angie kissed the top of her head. “Come on. Up you go. We still have an hour left here and there’s other things I want to do!”

Emma giggled. “I’m ready when you are.”


End file.
